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Original poster

Academics Chat Thread

999 replies

LRDtheFeministDragon · 02/09/2017 22:32

I believe the old Chat thread has fallen off the front page of this section, and I thought it might be time to reinstate it. I know it's only sporadically useful, but sometimes it's nice, right?

I am a lowly postdoctoral English Lit type. Finished my PhD in 2014, teaching associate for a couple of years, and now part-time while DD is a baby. I'm currently working frantically to get my book manuscript to the publisher by my deadline (October), and also trying to regain enthusiasm for the job market.

Who else is lurking around here?

OP posts:
FluctuatNecMergitur · 19/04/2018 14:56

Post-name-change WOOT! I got an interview.

murmuration · 20/04/2018 10:56

Congratulations fluctuat !!

FluctuatNecMergitur · 20/04/2018 14:34

FFS I'm organising a conference next week and have just had an email from one participant asking if she can bring her pet dog (not a guide / assistance dog) with her. She's even sent me a photo of it. I fucking hate dogs and don't fucking want one in my work space thankyou very much.

NeverEverAnythingEver · 20/04/2018 16:28

One of my colleagues used to bring his dog in. The dog just sat in the office and was walked periodically around campus. Grin

We periodically get emails about how we are taking our lives and our children's lives in our own hands if we bring them in to work. But I don't remember health and safety messages about pets.

NeverEverAnythingEver · 20/04/2018 16:28

What sort of dog?

TheRagingGirl · 20/04/2018 20:16

Awwwww. Several of my colleagues bring their dogs in every now & again (not as a regular everyday thing). And you know what, our students FLOCK to talk to the dogs, scratch them, have them to cuddle.

We have one dog who is a known de-stresser in the Exam term.

FluctuatNecMergitur · 20/04/2018 21:06

What sort of dog? Dunno. brown. I am NOT a dog person Grin sorry but is it not the hallmark of an absolute loon to email a conference organiser to ask if you can bring your bloody pet dog along from another bloody country?

TheRagingGirl · 20/04/2018 21:12

Not a loon, not at all, if you're a dog owner. But if you're not a dog owner, you wouldn't understand.

Maybe she doesn't have anyone to look after it and doesn't want to put it into kennels? It's just a question, not a command. You're allowed to say "Unfortunately, we can't accommodate dogs at the conference venue."

NeverEverAnythingEver · 20/04/2018 22:14

I'm not a dog person either. Grin

Raging has a good point though - would the conference venue/accommodation allow dogs?

FluctuatNecMergitur · 21/04/2018 07:13

Ri've said no BTW. Apparently she pulls this stunt every time there's a conference. She's also the only one of sixty participants who couldn't work out how to pay via the online system, will give mme the cash when she arrives. Oh and she asked to present well after the deadline. Bit of a big name in my field though hasn't done anything of note since about 1986 🙄🙄

FluctuatNecMergitur · 26/04/2018 14:40

So it turns out Loon Dog Lady has snuck her dog in in a zipped-up bag. I found this out when she mashed up a plate of food from the buffet and put it on the floor and the dog nipped at an attendee's ankles Angry

NeverEverAnythingEver · 27/04/2018 07:30

WTF! Shock

But it's also a bit funny in a would-only-happen-in-books way.

ShockShockShock

purplepandas · 28/04/2018 06:14

That is seriously bad. Could only happen st a conference.

HintUp · 28/04/2018 09:12

Hi everyone,

I wanted some advice please. I'm an ECR and I've been given the option to either supervise a PhD student (I would be 3rd supervisor), or be an examiner for 1st and 2nd year PhD upgrade reviews. I only have another year of contract with this university and I am looking for opportunities at another local better university. Which opportunity would you take? I can't do both. Thanks. (PhD student is coming to the end of his 1st year).

worstofbothworlds · 28/04/2018 10:09

If it's "just" a third supervisor and you won't be seeing them through to completion (always a badge in your cap) I'd go for the examiner role. Less work usually too.

TheRagingGirl · 28/04/2018 10:42

I'd do the upgrades. You'll learn a lot about what is needed to get students through, and a range of opinions about draft work-in-progress. I find that ECRs tend to be too harsh in their judgements - understandably, they're just through the experience themselves, but they haven't yet had the opportunities to see the range of ways that a PhD is done. If you work with other colleagues across a range of work-in-progress there's the possibility of hearing a number of different approaches to examining and advising.

FluctuatNecMergitur · 29/04/2018 19:10

yes I agree, always good to have a range of experiences for comparison.

TellyCushion · 29/04/2018 19:26

Why can't you do both?

impostersyndrome · 30/04/2018 14:15

I'd got for the upgrade too, for the same reasons as the others and as it's more focused work. You also may find it difficult to detach yourself from the supervision if you're leaving.

worstofbothworlds · 30/04/2018 14:46

I've written a long letter to our "gender" (cough sex cough) pay gap committee/our alternative weekly newsletter/for Twitter.

As it's on Twitter I'd rather not share in full on here, even anonymised, but if you'd like to see it/plagiarise it do feel free to PM me.

murmuration · 01/05/2018 10:09

Fluctuat - WHAT? Wow. I'm an animal person, and even I think that's completely innappropriate. And why did she bother asking if she was going to sneak it in anyway?? I must say secret dogs nipping people was never one of my worries regarding conference organisation. A new one to add...

Hint - I also recommend going for the examiner role. It gives you a greater breadth of experience - more people - and is more unique. Many ECRs will be able to claim some kind of supervision experience, either formal or informal. Fewer will be able to claim examination experience.

FluctuatNecMergitur · 01/05/2018 12:20

Glad someone agrees with me mumuration! The second day was in this gorgeous historical monument where we were under strict instructions not to touch the walls, breathe on the curtains etc, so it really didn't go down well when the caretaker spotted the bloody dog at the end of the day.

I have my interview in a couple of weeks. I have to teach a sample class. Any top tips?

pigmcpigface · 01/05/2018 18:26

Can I ask those of you who are a bit senior a question about recruitment?

At our place, DH is constantly being asked to sit on interview panels. He's a HoD, so you might say 'Fair enough, part of the job'. But they're not panels in his own department. They're in other departments in the Faculty. And they're not always for really senior roles, but for L, SL, Reader etc. It's because those in charge of the Faculty basically don't trust certain departments to make very sensible hiring decisions, so trusted individuals (like DH) are being parachuted in.

Is this normal? It's eating into a hell of a lot of DH's work time, and that's having a big impact on our home life too. (I'm an academic also, but not nearly as senior). To give you an idea, in the last 12 months he's sat on 6 or 7 panels, so that's 6 or 7 lost days. Because panels are often dithery, this means working those days at weekends, AND him not getting home til fairly late into the evening.

Just wondering what the practice is elsewhere (and having a stealth moan).

impostersyndrome · 01/05/2018 20:23

As a fairly senior woman I get similarly frequent requests. You know what? Learning to say no gracefully is one of the best skills I’ve acquired. I wouldn’t do more than 2 or 3 a year. Aside from the impact on spare time, there’s a risk you can’t do things that require your specific expertise. (I’ll gloss over the feeling that some of this is for male/female balance. It’s not my problem to redress the imbalances in our field).

worstofbothworlds · 02/05/2018 10:39

Sitting on panels in other departments - normal
One person only being asked to do them all - not normal

(I once had a request from someone I knew vaguely in another dept who said "I've been advised to get someone from a cognate discipline". I was very happily able to decline on the bases that I knew what cognate meant and he clearly didn't).